When you buy something the law gives you certain rights that protect you if it’s faulty. You may also have extra rights depending on where you buy the item and how you pay for it. Find out what your rights are and who can help if things go wrong.

When you buy an item from a trader (eg a shop or online shop) the law says the item must be:

• of satisfactory quality – last for the time you would expect it to and be free of any defects
• fit for purpose – fit for the use described and any specific use you made clear to the trader
• as described – match the description on packaging or what the trader told you

If an item doesn’t meet any of these rights, it is faulty and you will usually have the right to a:

• repair
• replacement
• refund

These rights apply to most items you buy from a shop, including sale items. You may have additional rights to these if you have a warranty (see link below).

If the trader makes a fault known to you and you buy the item, you can’t return it unless you discover a different fault.

You have fewer rights if you buy your item from a private seller, eg in an online auction or from a newspaper advert. The items only have to match the description given by the seller and be theirs to sell.

You also have rights if you buy a service or sign up to a contract, eg if you a hire a builder or join a gym (see link below).

• Returning faulty items

• Guarantees and warranties for goods – your consumer rights

• Buying a service – your consumer rights

Follow our guide to get the best deals and incentives whether on duel fuel or if you are on a single fuel supply.

All the big six energy providers have increased prices
as much as 16% on electricity and 19%

NOW is the perfect time to compare, switch & save
£100s

British Gas, Eon, Npower and Scottish Power have said they won’t raise energy prices this winter, though Npower’s and Scottish Power’s commitment is limited to those on the pair’s standard tariff. SSE has already pledged not to hike prices before August 2012.

A typical house paying £1,345 on a standard tariff can slash it to £1,030 Click here to compare and save and even get CASHBACK when switching or look at our top picks bellow and select the best deal for you.

Top Deal with £15 cashback per switch

Dual Fuel Switching Get A Crate of Wine

U Switch

Dual Fuel with £30 cashback

Money Supermarket

Dual Fuel £40 cashback

Simply Switch

iGo Green Batteries

These new iGo Green batteries are the world’s first non-toxic rechargeable batteries, which also allow you to go ‘green for free’, as they cost considerably less than other rechargeable batteries, plus you get the cost of the batteries back after just two recharges. Also, unlike nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride cell batteries (your normal bog standard ones) which self-discharge in less than 90 days, the iGo Green Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries can carry their charge for up to seven years! This is amazing really.

Pricing: iGo Green Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries are available in AA and AAA sizes and have an MSRP of £7.99 for a four-pack and £12.99 for an eight-pack. An iGo Green Charger must be used for recharging purposes and can be purchased for £15.99, which also includes a four-pack of AA batteries.

TVonics FreeView

Why not reduce your monthly direct debits and go for a one of subscription free purchase of a TVonics box? The Freeview+ HD boxes allow all consumers with a HD ready TV to watch and enjoy Freeview+ in high definition and are now being sold at the limited price of £199 when bought directly from the TVonics’ website. Not the cheapest box out there however the advantage is that TVonics constantly brings the box up to date, they recently launched internet services and iPlayer onto the boxes- providing customers with on-demand BBC HD and SD programming and films, as well as radio! This means that the TVonics boxes can remain new, no matter how old they may be!

Price £199.99 http://www.tvonics.com/freeview-hd-recorders/

Laptop alex

The Broadband Computer Company have designed a beginner-friendly, easy to use home computer called ‘alex’, specifically for the millions of ‘digitally-excluded’ people who feel confused and frustrated by computers. The software comes with an easy-to use email system, web-browsing, image editing and office software with your own personal email and Skype accounts already set up. A person with no prior IT experience can pick ‘alex’ up in a couple of minutes and its feedback has been phenomenal. Alex is a smart laptop adapted from an industry standard

Price £299.99

ELIMINATA (Smart Plug)

ELIMINATA overcomes these problems by learning how the appliance is used within the office and switching the power supply so that it’s only on when it’s needed. For example, ELIMINATA Laptop Saver disconnects the power when the battery is fully charged and reconnects it if the battery needs charging. This allows you to keep the laptop plugged in without wasting electricity. Normally, even when a laptop is switched off it will draw power from the mains, which not only wastes energy but also shorten the battery life.

ELIMINATA is easy to use with existing appliances – you just plug it in as you would an extension cable – and it can pay for itself within 12-18 months.

Price for Laptop version £30.00 available March 2012 www.eliminata.com

EoN Energy Monitor

The Energy Saving Monitor has been designed to highlight your energy usage. See how much electricity you’re using – in real time. See the instant effect of switching on and off appliances on your bill; see how much standby is used in the house when you think everything is switched off. This soon adds up when you’re asleep or out of the house! The energy saving monitor makes it simple for you to make small changes, saving you big money. By better understanding your consumption and changing a few habits you can make a difference to your electricity bills. What’s more you will be helping save energy, CO2 and the environment.

https://www.eonshop.co.uk/default.aspx

Skype Handset

Skype has launched the FREETALK Connect Me Home Phone Adapter, which allows you to use Skype on your home phone. This hassle-free solution will allow consumers to use their existing handsets free Skype-to-Skype calls and affordable calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide. This is a great little gadget as it makes using Skype feel as if you are making a normal call rather than shouting at your PC or laptop. With the new GE Digital Cordless Expandable Telephone with Skype, users can enjoy free
Skype-to-Skype calls and low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles worldwide using Skype Credit, in addition to landline calls. You can also manage your Skype contacts without having to log into your Computer.

Price £34.99

Oral B PC Triumph 5000 Electric Toothbrush

Giving you plenty to smile about, the Oral-B Professional Care 5000A Triumph Electric Toothbrush with Smart Guide offers the most advanced cleaning technology for unbelievable plaque removal, not an obvious money saving gadget, but by taking the very best possible care of your teeth and gums you will save £100s on dental care, not to mention a whole lot of pain and grief.

RRP £179.00 but can be bought much cheaper if you shop around, use the link above to get a great deal.

watch2pay

watch2pay taps into the growing demand for contactless payments and prepaid cards in the UK. Taking MasterCard PayPass technology to the next level, watch2Pay offers consumers greater security than cash, while allowing them to segment and budget for different spending needs. The notion of a prepaid card without a credit line also helps consumers to avoid debt. While watch2pay doesn’t save you money per say it does help you to manage your spending! Perfect for teens, parents can see exactly what that pocket money is going on and give them a weekly budget all loaded onto the watch directly! Likewise it’s ideal for office workers as you can set yourself a spending limit for lunch and once the money runs out you stop purchasing

Price £99.99 http://watch2pay.co.uk/

Gtech SW20 Power Sweeper

The New cordless GTECH SW20 powered sweeper that costs less than 1p per hour of use compared to 30p per hour of a hoover. Lightweight, bagless, cordless and rechargeable, the new Gtech SW20 sweeper is powered by an eco-fast, energy saving yet powerful 7.2V motor charged via a conventional domestic electricity socket providing 60 minutes efficient cleaning. The eco-fast charge station allows the sweeper to fully charge from empty in five hours. Its auto cut off device allows you to safely leave it on the stand to maintain full charge. The SW20 also combines Germguard, a unique antibacterial additive exclusive to GTech which is built into the handle and bin. Its action traps and kills over 99.9 percent of bacteria including MRSA, Salmonella, Listeria and E-Coli

Price 69.95 Use the link above to buy yours.

So what can you do if you are one of the many thousands of people who are struggling to make ends meet and pay those bills? Well the good news is that there are three exhalant organisations out there that are set up to help people, who are dealing with the horror of debt and possible consequences, and what’s more they are totally free to use, so if you are struggling contact them today, it will be the best move you ever made, guaranteed.

A NHS recruiting manager told me recently ‘We had over 400 applications for the two administrative posts that we advertised for, yet we could only realistically shortlist 30 due to the vast quantity of poorly written and badly constructed applications’, when asked about the quality of recent applications for two clerical posts in a London hospital trust.

I have recently discussed the same issue with a recruitment manager responsible for a national Housing Association’s customer contact centre. ‘We had to bin at least seventy percent of all applications because they were either too generic, full of bad grammar and spelling, or they simply did not answer the person specification that we had clearly set our candidates to respond to’.

Competition for job roles is becoming increasingly fierce and presents additional challenges to jobs seekers. However, there are very simple ways of ensuring that your application is not “binned” at the first stage of short listing.

Follow the instructions written in the application pack: If there is a person specification (often found in local government, education, NHS, charity recruitment, the third sector and a range of private sector organisations), write your supporting statement, specifically addressing the points that they have set out.

This sounds very simple but it is the main source of frustration for the short listing panel when you haven’t answered all of the set questions.

I often compare this technique to that of a job interview: The panel have a set of questions for every candidate; if you answer all of the questions and the next person doesn’t then you have a greater chance of success. Often a short listing panel will score your application, so the more points you score, the higher you chances of securing the interview. Answer all of the questions with relevant examples and you could score higher!

Please, please, please spell check! (English not American). The simple fact is that if you cannot spell check, then you do not demonstrate the administrative ability, the presentation and communication skills or the basic Microsoft Word competency required to work in a number of organisations.

Grammar! “In my role with x I done”. Examples such as this are being read even as you read this. Immediate “no” pile for poor grammar in applications. There is often the temptation to write in the style of your thinking voice. Try to get a second person to review what you have written before submitting your application.

Make it relevant! Even if you have had a career break, or had limited experience of a particular role that you are applying for, try to use relevant examples when answering the person specification. These do not have to be work specific, but must relate to the point made in the person specification.

Generic applications stand out! If you are applying for a job role, please try not to “cut and paste” from previous applications. There will be some exceptions, perhaps when answering about your IT skills. But generic applications do not answer specific points that the short listing panel are looking for.

This is not a definitive list of how to impress at application stage, but from consistent feedback from recruiting managers across different sectors, hopefully these tips could help secure your next interview.

Now more than ever it’s important to ensure you have the right bank account for your needs, it’s been very easy for us all over the last four years to criticize the big banks for their massive failure to keep a grip on things. After all they have lost us billions of pounds while all the time charging us ridicules sums of money for things such as late payment charges and interest rates on rip of credit cards etc. If you have a bank account I can guarantee that at some point they have set your blood to boiling point with some error or overcharging, at least once during your relationship with them.  So loyalty is not something you should consider when you think about switching banks, the only thing you need to think about is what is the best account for you, take a look at the table below the lovely people at Love Money have put together a table of the best bank accounts available today, you may even get yourself a cash incentive for switching too.

If you have ever been shopping in a large department store you will no doubt have been offered a store card at some point during your visit. Quite often at the point of sale at the till, usually you are advised that you will be able to make a big saving on your purchase by taking a store card, with an offer of a 10% or even 20% reduction on the purchase you are making that day, which to be fair all sounds very attractive, who wouldn’t be tempted by savings as high as this as well as not having to pay for your purchases there and then? But and this is a huge but, they will not tell you how much you will be paying for this little service, if you were to ask the sales assistant just how much the APR is on the card they are selling the chances are they would have no idea at all. You may be surprised to learn that the APR can be as high as 29%!

My advice is simple, Never ever be tempted to take out a store card, if you want to make a purchase using credit then look for the best deals on a credit card, and if you can’t get a good deal because you have a poor credit rating then simply walk away and buy on a day when you can afford cash.

The lovely people at Love money and Money facts have put together the chart below which shows you who the worst offenders are in this market, take a look and if you have one of these cards, pay it off and then cancel it immediately, If you are struggling with repayments then go to our help page to see what you can do to get back on track.

To get Yours Simply Click The Link Bellow